I took the train from Seattle to San Diego taking 3 days. I spent the first night on the train, sleeping in the seat. Actually slept pretty well, all things considered. My second night was in Santa Barbara at a hotel near the train station.
As I was getting out of the car in Seattle, another car pulled up and two other thruhikers popped out! They had me pegged as a thruhiker first thing, and we ended up hanging out in the lounge car for most of the trip. Later in the first day, two more thruhikers got on in central Oregon – we recognized them immediately as the train pulled into the station.
The train ended up being really fun. The lounge car has huge windows with lots of light, and bench seating around a table, along with some dedicated window facing seats. Being able to get up walk around was a great improvement over air travel, and there are some really beautiful areas the train passes through. I had dinner in the dining car the first night, and it was excellent.
Next stop – Campo, CA and the rest of the trail!
